Timid Convict?

[rhetor]

I have a 10 gallon tank with 1 little convict, not quite 2" long. He shares the tank with 3 cherry barbs and 2 emerald cories.

My plan is to grow the convict up in the 10g untill its too large and then put it into my 125g with my other angry cichlids.

When i first had the convict in there, it was active and always excited for food time. I've always noticed my cichlids ascociate me with food almost instantly.

For some reason though, for the past few weeks the convict has been very timid. It still chases the other fish out of its cave, but its afraid of me!

When i feed the fish the convict is always hiding and i dont see it eat much. If i feed them and then hide somewhere in the room he will come up and peck at something, then take it back down in her cave to eat it.

Is the convict just being shy or what? When i turn th elights out i see her swimming around a whole lot more. She has no signs of being sick.

 

[J-Aqua]

My convict does the same thing you mentioned. IMO, convicts are really weird cichlids. I think your convict is establishing her/his territory. It is affraid if it leaves the cave is will get stolen by another fish so she stays in its area. This is what mine did for a while. As long as it eats and you see it swim around everything should be fine. Once it knows that its territory won't be taken it will come out more often.

Also its possible that your convict might not like its habitat due to thinking there're too many fish in the tank. Convicts are very territorial so take that into consideration if not already.

Also, do you turn off the lights for 12hrs and leave them on for 12hrs? If so, maybe keep them off for a bit longer so the convict can get more comfortable!

good luck
J

 

[rhetor]

I will try that trick with the lights, thanks!

I'm watching her right now and she is out exploring, swimming through the plants and pestering any fish that gets in her way. She seems very confortable with the other fish, she just hates me!

I gues i'm just used to my other large cichlids and other fish getting real excited to see me, because they know food. Like when you show them the fish food container and they all go crazy.

I am most concerned about her getting enough food. She is obviously getting enough to survive, but should be growing faster. Maybe i'll just have to leave the room when i feed them and pray for the best. Too bad i don't have a webcam i can spy on her with.

 

[Sicklid]

Mine were never aggressive till they started breeding... If there is a male in the 125 watch out.

 

[rhetor]

Well i set up a remote spying outpost on the convict.

I think she just doesn't like the food. She is actice when i'm not near the tank, and looks very healthy, but her belly isn't full like the other fish. I watched her go up to one of the "TetraColor tropical flakes" but spat it out.

She never really liked those flakes much when she was eating, but she LOVED the freeze dried bloodworms. Now she doesn't seem to eat those either. I also have "Tetramin tropical crisps" and the algae wafers for the corys. Maybe she just isn't interested?

So here's the new question(s)- do freeze dried bloodworms go bad in a month or two? Should the convict be fed cichlid pellets or flakes instead of the tropical flakes?

 

[Sicklid]

I always felt old blood worms give off that "freezer burned" taste... I definitely noticed a decline in the ravenous way mine ate the older blood worms as opposed to when the package was fresh. My convicts always went absolutely bananas for cichlid pellets.